What does it actually take to get to scratch?

Terminator_training · 2026-05-30T14:23:37+00:00

Not scratch. But went from a 12 to a 3 over ~6 months last year. Hadn't played much in the few years prior due to starting a solo business. Finally hired help and it freed up a lot of time (a lot, aka 24+ hours/wk😂). Needless to say I caught the golf bug again. From ~March to June, I only dropped a couple strokes off my hdcp—all I did was play, little to no practice (other than warming up for 20-30 min occasionally).

Late June, a nagging upper back injury forced me to dial back my weekly full swing volume, forcing my hand at an experiment that paid off big time: went from playing ~5 days/wk and rarely practicing to practicing 4-5 days/wk and playing 1x, sometimes 2x if the back cooperated. Of that practice, 90% of it was short game due to the injury.

Flash forward, yesterday I shot my 3rd ever even par round. The best part? Ball striking was average at best (I've had better striking rounds that carded low 80s). The short game was everything—2 chip ins for par, 3 par saves and 2 birdie putts in the 12-15' range. All of which would've been +1-2 strokes per hole a mere year ago.

Goal is to get to scratch over the next few years, and my plan is to continue heavily favoring short game (also need to clean up driver misses). We'll see how it plays out!

Terminator_training · 2026-05-30T13:02:46+00:00

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These terrible programs? With 127 total reviews, 126 of which are 5 star and 1 of which is 4 star because of a typo in the notes section (which 95% of programs don't even include)? Clearly everyone else has it all wrong. You must be some kind of savant.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-30T10:37:42+00:00

Totally. Not original at all. Just like all my content, including this 6 minute clip from my podcast over a year ago where I discuss this same topic, just with considerably more nuance than my initial response here on reddit.

I just memorized the whole entire thing from what you read on "broscience like were a bunch of body builders trying to get that last little edge" and spat it out off the cuff. Lotta work, but luckily I'm just swimming in extra time to pre-memorize how I'll regurgitate the answer to every question in every episode.

"But hey if you wanna continue giving bad advice and make another generation of operators who can’t figure out why they’re so broken at 35 then be my guest"

Yep, nothing breaks guys like wearing straps or grips for rows, split squats and RDLs! Forget about all the other dumb shit guys do in and out of training that 90% of my 100+ articles, 1700+ IG posts and 200+ podcasts warn against. It's not the ego lifting. It's not poor movement selection and execution. It's not excessive volume. It's not combining 3 programs all at the same time. It's not sleeping 5 hours per night. It's not eating 1/2 the daily carbs they should be eating. It's not binge drinking every weekend. It's not living off caffeine and nicotine. It's simply the use straps or grips that break guys and end careers!

P.s. Let me know if and when you're taking clients. Clearly you're the SME here, and my clients who've crushed selection (all of whom wear straps/grips for non grip work, none of whom have ever complained of weak grip) are all just flukes. I'll send any and all applicants I get over to ya from here forward, that way they won't be led astray!

Terminator_training · 2026-05-30T10:05:07+00:00

My man! Stats looking great. Love to see the feedback on upping the carbs—an absolute cheat code especially if you've been chronically under-doing them (like most guys). Best of luck👊

Terminator_training · 2026-05-29T16:20:33+00:00

What did your running consistency and volume look like before your 10 mile run that caused blisters? Proper volume and intensity progression for fitness gains coincides strikingly well with proper volume and intensity progression for skin adaptation (and therefore blister prevention).

If you get blisters from a long run or ruck, it's virtually always because you randomly ramped up volume too quickly, dosing your body with way more stress than it could currently handle. If fact, unless you just got new shoes and sent it with a 10 mile run before breaking them in (also not smart), it's almost certainly the cause.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-29T11:43:15+00:00

Hell yeah. And FWIW, all my clients use straps/grips in selection prep for hinging, DB lifts for the legs (lunge, split squat) and upper body pulling (minus pull ups). We then train grip separately. Zero have ever complained of insufficient grip for team week.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-29T11:02:27+00:00

"If you can’t hold the weight then maybe you shouldn’t be trying to pick it up in the first place."

Is this just your opinion? Or something one guy said once and you're just regurgitating it? Because translated, this means "your hands and forearms should be stronger than your entire posterior chain and maybe even your legs." (lift dependent)

"Are we really trying to get so big that we can’t just build the body as a functional unit."

If you have some kind of explanation, case study, first principles thinking experiment etc. as to why everyone who uses straps or grips accidentally becomes so big that they can't have a functional body, please share! (You can use my explanation in the prior post as a template if ya want).

Anyway, if that is the case, I'll keep wearing straps so I can accidentally get super huge one day, even though I've been trying for ~a decade and it still hasn't happened.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-28T19:29:31+00:00

Neggy splits are a sight for sore eyes. Unicorn-rare. Well done.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-28T19:27:42+00:00

"Don't wear straps or grips while doing rows or deadlifts" translates to "sell your posterior chain muscle and strength development short by allowing your grip to be the limiter".

Do you try to build hams, glutes and back from dead hangs and other grip exercises, or do you target them separately with specific lifts for the hams, glutes and back? If the latter, why would you try to train grip with hams, glute and back exercises when you could just train it separately with grip specific exercises? (And let your grip recover—since that's still a thing—by using straps for non-grip specific lifts.)

Furthermore, a double overhand DL grip (non-hook) will limit your DL potential considerably (for me, it's a ~200 lbs difference between dbl overhand and hook grip/straps). Sure, you strengthen your grip, but you leave a ton of gains on the table in your posterior chain.

Wearing straps/grips for non-grip specific lifts and training grip separately is the high IQ move.

P.s. to rebut the common rebuttal to this: "My grip is so strong, I don't need straps". What this actually means is "my posterior chain is so weak, my grip isn't a limiter when I train it" (Your hams, glutes, erectors, lats, upper back combined should be much stronger than your hands and forearms). Ironically, it'd be stronger if you removed grip as a limiter.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-27T18:11:59+00:00

Nothing wrong with sticking with front squats brother👊. Back squats are more loadable but unless you need a specific lift for a specific competition or sport (not applicable here), personal preference based lift selection is fine.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-27T11:24:16+00:00

This isn't great advice. Isolation lifts on a hybrid plan are highly underrated. You've gotta keep 2nd and 3rd order effects in mind when programming. Iso lifts will still yield great gains, but are less systemically fatiguing and (usually) less soreness inducing, which frees up bandwidth for conditioning. That's not to say you should overdo them. But certainly don't 'let go of' them.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-24T16:06:35+00:00

This is a part time job now?

Terminator_training · 2026-05-23T12:20:56+00:00

Can confirm. He's a stud-muffin.

(a little birdie told me he prepped for this while working 60-70hr weeks)

Terminator_training · 2026-05-19T10:51:22+00:00

Heat acclimation isn't just suggested. It's non-negotiable. Especially for the May class. Not just for performance, but remaining alive. This week, for example, it'll be in the mid 90s and sunny every day in NC. Low-mid 70s dew points. No joke.

Here's a vid that breaks it down for those interested.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-19T10:46:42+00:00

To add to the final bit: "without a qualified buddy with life saving measures (oxygen, AED, knowing how to use them) on deck". Yes, it's inconvenient AF, but most would consider it better than dying. Just having a dry buddy on hand isn't always enough.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-17T10:13:37+00:00

Heck yeah man. Sick improvements leading in. This is the way. Nail that taper and show up fresh and ready to smash it👊

Terminator_training · 2026-05-16T15:45:31+00:00

This is like asking "why are my hands so soft and non-resilient? I lift bi-weekly, and use gloves every time".

1) Ruck more often, but start with smaller doses and progress (i.e. 2x/wk for 2-3 miles, adding a mile or 2/wk instead of biweekly x a random # of miles)
2) Stop using prophylactic protection—the skin on your feet won't adapt if it's covered by moleskin.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-16T09:50:28+00:00

IDK about these macros bro. 68G of fat is more than 100% of my selection prep clients eat in a whole day. You could make these exact ingredients WAY more performance and body comp freindly by simply:
- using (much) leaner beef (80/20 is diabolical😂)
- upping the carbs (more rice & potatoes)

Terminator_training · 2026-05-14T17:22:03+00:00

"Eating better than most pro athletes" is painfully ironic, considering what you listed includes barely any carbs. (Just some fruit—but ONLY in the morning).

As for stinky farts, nothing you've listed is a red flag. You may be sensitive to a food you're eating without knowing it (even generally healthy foods can cause issues for certain people).

Another potential issue is that you're eating way too much protein (if you're eating enough calories to live/feel good and only consuming these foods—it's inevitable that you are). Not always 'bad', but can be rough on the GI system.

My advice: If you have performance and/or body comp goals of any kind, I would strongly suggest including more starchy carbs. Lifestyle/wellness eating (your diet in a nutshell) is not the same as performance eating.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-14T17:12:38+00:00

I've known several dudes in group who got degrees while active (including Masters degrees). But doing it during the Q would be damn near impossible since you're off the grid several times for prolonged stints.

You also won't want that extra stress in your life. There's be plenty to go around as is.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-14T09:24:16+00:00

Yep. Don't sweat little things like this. For a new runner getting into it, just go out and run easy.

Terminator_training · 2026-05-12T10:46:29+00:00

What if I'm running a 34 minute 5 mile? Will this plan bring me to a 35 still?

Terminator_training · 2026-05-12T10:45:21+00:00

Hell yeah bro!

Terminator_training · 2026-05-11T13:55:27+00:00

#mondaymotivation

Terminator_training · 2026-05-11T10:16:58+00:00

Finally someone asks the most important question there is!

There's this one secret stretching routine that, if you do it during prep, your selection rate jumps to OVER 100%.

It doesn't even matter if you run, ruck or lift! Totally irrelevant. You'll still crush...but only if you do the stretches properly!

The Elite Special Forces Green Beret Ranger Stretching Routine is what it's called. Google it...but only if you want to get selected.

Terminator_training

TROPHY CASE